1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to implantable medical devices, such as stents.
2. Description of the State of the Art
A typical stent is a cylindrically shaped device, which holds open and sometimes expands a segment of a blood vessel or other anatomical lumen such as urinary tracts and bile ducts. Stents are often used in the treatment of atherosclerotic stenosis in blood vessels. “Stenosis” refers to a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice. In such treatments, stents reinforce body vessels and prevent restenosis following angioplasty. “Restenosis” refers to the reoccurrence of stenosis in a blood vessel or heart valve after it has been subjected to angioplasty or valvuloplasty.
Stents have been made of many materials including metals and polymers. Polymer materials include both nonbioerodable and bioerodable plastic materials. In some applications, a polymeric bioerodable stent may be more advantageous than a metal stent due to its biodegradeability and greater flexibility relative to the metal stent.
The cylindrical structure of a stent is typically composed of a scaffolding that includes a pattern or network of interconnecting structural elements or struts. The scaffolding can be formed from wires, tubes, or planar films of material rolled into a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, the pattern that makes up the stent allows the stent to be radially expandable and longitudinally flexible. Longitudinal flexibility facilitates delivery of the stent and rigidity allows a stent to hold open a lumen of a tubular organ. Generally, the pattern should be designed to maintain the longitudinal flexibility and rigidity required of the stent. The stent should also have adequate strength in the circumferential direction.
A number of techniques have been suggested for the fabrication of metallic and polymeric stents from tubes and planar films or sheets. Examples of such techniques include laser cutting or etching a pattern onto a material. Laser cutting may be performed on a planar film of a material which is then rolled into a tubular configuration. Alternatively, a desired pattern may be etched directly onto a tube. Other techniques involve cutting a desired pattern into a sheet or a tube via chemical etching or electrical discharge machining Laser cutting of stents has been described in a number of publications including U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,807 to Saunders, U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,005 to Richter, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,759 to Richter.
Additionally, a polymeric wire may be coiled to form a polymeric stent. In yet another method, a polymeric stent may be formed from a tube by laser cutting a pattern of cylindrical rings and connecting rings in the tube itself. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,585,755 to Jackson et al.
“Islands” refer to pieces or portions of metal or polymeric tubing material that are not intended to be part of a stent pattern, and that remain attached to stent struts after laser cutting. The pieces or portions may have a relatively weak physical attachment to a strut or may be wedged between struts with no physical attachment to the struts. Stent islands are conventionally removed from the stent by inserting a metal mandrel through the stent and tapping the mandrel against a surface. This method of removing stent islands after laser cutting the stent causes vibrations that essentially shake the islands out of the stent. However, such vibrations may also damage the stent. In particular, regions of a stent that are exposed to high stress during stent use may be damaged, which may weaken the stent in these high stress regions.
Additionally, a medicated stent may be fabricated by coating the surface of either a metallic or polymeric scaffolding with a polymeric carrier that includes an active or bioactive agent or drug. Polymeric scaffolding may also serve as a carrier of an active agent or drug.
Furthermore, it may be desirable for a stent to be biodegradable. In many treatment applications, the presence of a stent in a body may be necessary for a limited period of time until its intended function of, for example, maintaining vascular patency and/or drug delivery is accomplished. Therefore, stents fabricated from biodegradable, bioabsorbable, and/or bioerodable materials such as bioabsorbable polymers should be configured to completely erode only after the clinical need for them has ended.